Florence Pugh Leads a Team of Marvel Misfits in First Thunderbolts* Trailer

By Nadira Begum  |  September 23, 2024 | 3:22pm
Movies News Marvel Cinematic Universe
Florence Pugh Leads a Team of Marvel Misfits in First Thunderbolts* Trailer

After changes in the cast and delays due to the Hollywood strikes, Marvel has finally released the first teaser trailer for their next ensemble film, Thunderbolts*. Primed to complete Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and ushering in a new era of the franchise, Thunderbolts* sees Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) reunite with her Black Widow father figure Alexei (David Harbour) before joining a whole host of misunderstood Marvel villains to form a team of reluctant antiheroes.

Fans have been curious to see how the next generation of “Avengers” will work after the departure of the beloved original lineup, and this new trailer promises something entirely different. It reveals the return of John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) and fan favorite Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) as Thunderbolts* offers a somewhat cynical new perspective on the superhero franchise. As contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) states, “Eventually you come to realize that there are bad guys, and there are worse guys, and nothing else.” These so-called bad guys find their purpose in this new team, and after a few hiccups—a combat sequence between Belova, Walker and Starr, a road chase that ends with a car being flipped upside down, the usual Marvel fare—they come together to complete a mission for the U.S. government.

With the Thunderbolts* trailer comes a first look at Lewis Pullman as the bemused Bob, or Sentry, who seems completely baffled at the sudden presence of the superheroes around him. This is the first time that this character—considered to be one of the most powerful in the comics—has been depicted on screen and marks one of the most notable recasting choices of the film (Pullman took over this role after The Walking Dead actor Steven Yeun had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts as a result of the film’s delay from the 2024 release calendar).

From a screenplay by seasoned Marvel writer Eric Pearson (and Beef writers Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, joining the series’ director Jake Schreier), and with a mysterious asterisk in the title that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is still yet to explain, Thunderbolts* puts the spotlight on the outcasts and misfits to offer an alternative to the films of the MCU we’ve grown used to.

Thunderbolts* is set to be released on May 2, 2025. You can watch the new trailer below:

 
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